Newbie to AG, couple questions

[cochise99]

Hey all excited about this. Have a couple questions though.

I notice everyone is using plastic i.e (cooler mash tuns) does anyone use anything different or find there is different flavouring when using plastic in your AG brewing? Just in everyday cooking I avoid using plastic and find everything tastes better using glass or stainless, not to mention things they say about heating plastic and it causes Cancer. Although seems everything causes that. Just a concern anyhow.

Also I'm a fan of lager beers. From the guy at the home brewers shop in my city he told me not to fool with it, too much trouble? Is it really ? I'd still like to do a few if a could I know it must take a long to ferment.

Finally when you are using a cooler mash tun. How often are you checking your temperature over the coarse of your mash? Do these coolers really hold that high temp for that long? Thanks any info would be appreciated.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Welcome to All Grain. I use a plastic Rubbermaid cooler and I would recommend this at least to start. The main benefit in my opinion is that you don't need to worry about the temperature once you have mashed in. heat loss would be more of a concern with a metal mash tun. Through testing I've found that my mash tun loses less than two degrees during a 60 minute mash. It's insulated very well.

To your second mash tun question, because the cooler insulates so well it can be "set it and forget it"

Larger are more difficult in that they need to be kept at a lower temperature during fermentation. Not always doable unless you have more equipment or a spare fridge.

Hope this helps!

 

[Roadie]

Not everyone uses plastic but it is economical to do so. We have a 3 vessel single tier stainless steel electric system but it was spendy. I'm not sure about the health aspect of plastic so not qualified to answer that.

You can wrap the mash tun in a blanket or something to insulate it and although I personally have not used that system believe it holds temperatures well.

As far as lagers go they are not easy for a beginner as any little mistake is usually evident in the product. If you wanted to try it the most important thing you would need would be temperature control. I use an old fridge and a brew belt on a dual controller which can keep my beer any temp I want it and keep it to within 1 degree. No temp control = no lagers.

 

[mwp02]

I just bought some AG equip too. I'm using 2 - 10 gal (11.7 gal capacity) plastic coolers for hot liquor tank and mash tun. In the handful of AG batches I've brewed / observed, the mash temp usually drops by about a degree over a 75 minute mash. I use an oven thermometer with probe to monitor temp without removing the lid. It came with a clip so I can attach the probe to the inside of the mash tun and keep the lid on it to hold the temp. Wrapping the mash tun in towels helps hold the temp too. I don't have an opinion on on plastic adding flavors since I've never done an AG batch on anything but a plastic cooler.

As for lagers, I don't agree that they are too much trouble. You are correct that they take longer to ferment and condition but if you like them then it is worth it to give them a try. Do you have a fermentation chamber of some kind?

 

[kev211]

Another cooler user here. I understand the concern with using plastic, but honestly I would imagine in the grand scheme of things that its not too bad. Not a scientist, just making a general observation. As far as how often do we check temp when its in the cooler, I usually just check mine once the grains have been added and everything has had the time to acclimate (cooler gets up to temp, etc) and at the end just to check the temp loss. I only lose 1-2 degrees tops, so Im not too concerned about it. The more I open the lid, the more temp I lose. I do open it every 10-15 minutes to give it a quick stir to work out a little more sugars.

 

[cochise99]

Yeah definitely not going to go lagers any time soon. Get a a few brews under my belt. I don't have any sort of fermentation chamber made up. Ya all good point fellas thanks. I will want to go into more automation as time goes by just the nature of the beast for me being a instrument guy.

 

[rashadx100]

If the cooler is new just do a couple of 150 degree soaks with water and non perfumed cleaner. Rinse and repeat. You won't tell the difference between stainless and plastic.

 

[doug293cz]

You don't need a mash tun to do all grain. You can do BIAB (brew in a bag) with just a big pot and a suitable bag, although most bags are polymer (nylon or polyester) so if you're worried about that it doesn't help (I have no qualms about using a polyester bag.)

Lagers aren't that difficult if you have a good way to control low fermentation temperatures. A chest freezer or refrigerator with a dual mode temperature controller (like an STC-1000, or similar) does the trick. If you start with darker lagers, you will be less exposed to the effects of off flavors. They also don't have to take as long as conventional wisdom says (see this article.)

Brew on

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I have no temp controlled fermenting chamber. I am using brulosopher's lager method. Fermented at 50 for the first week in a water bath. Moved inside and easily got to 65 for a week. Today it goes into a 48 qt ice chest. I will dump a sack of ice and add as needed for the next week. Summer would be a lot harder I am sure.